Believe
by Aerial312
Summary: McGee observes Tony and Ziva.  Tag to "The Tell".


McGee yawned and rubbed his eyes as he trudged down the hall. Abby had been a chatty mood, still going on and on about believing in things you couldn't quantify, so it took longer to extract himself from the lab than he'd have liked. He was looking forward to going home, pouring a glass of wine, maybe some dinner, and parking himself in front of the computer until he fell asleep, which wasn't going to be long.

He was almost in the squad room when his gaze landed on his teammates, and he paused on the far side of the partition. They were both over at Ziva's desk. That wasn't unusual. Sometimes it seemed like Tony spent more time across the aisle than at his own desk. Ziva was sitting in her chair, leaning in towards Tony, who crouched on the other side, facing her. He had his little American flag in his hand, and was twirling it back and forth.

They were deep in conversation, focused on each other to the exclusion of everything else. McGee was certain they hadn't registered his presence in the room. He couldn't hear what they were saying, but it probably wasn't meant for his ears. Tony put the flag in Ziva's pencil cup, beside the Israeli one that resided there. The writer in McGee couldn't help but think that that was nice symbolism for how close they had grown. But he wasn't writing about his coworkers anymore… If he hadn't been trying to remain unnoticed, he would have given himself a slap to the back of the head. It was for the better that he wasn't writing about them anymore, but sometimes it was so tempting.

He watched as Ziva leaned in to say something, and Tony considered it very thoughtfully. Even though they were in the middle of the bullpen, there was something about this moment that made him feel like he was intruding on a private moment—one very different from the lustful staring they usually engaged in. This was much more…intimate. As much as their everyday public interactions were laced with sexual innuendo, McGee had known it was far more complicated than that since the day he followed Tony halfway across the world for her. This was a side of their relationship that he'd never actually seen though. Actually sweet and tender.

There had been many occasions over the years when McGee had suspected that there was something going on between his teammates. The did-they-or-didn't-they while they were undercover, the lying about who took the bed in Paris, all added to that impression. They'd seemed to grow closer and closer in the past year, despite each of them being in a relationship with someone else. If it hadn't happened yet, it was inevitable. Everyone knew it, even Gibbs, McGee was sure. He didn't think Gibbs would have a problem with it at this point, Rule 12 or not. They had been breaking the spirit of Rule 12 for years.

Across the room, Tony's hand reached out to grab Ziva's. Now McGee really felt like he was intruding on a private moment. Slowly, he backed away, turning and heading down to the lab as soon as he was out of sight.

Abby was sitting at her desk working on a case report when he came in. "I thought you were anxious to go home. You were anxious to get out of here, that was clear."

"I was. Anxious to go home that is…"

"And yet you're back. Why? Spill."

"I went upstairs."

"And?"

"They-I didn't want to interrupt—"

Abby's eyes got wide. "Interrupt, like-?"

"Not that," he sighed. "Even they wouldn't in the squad room."

"Then what?" Abby asked, excitedly. She got up and crossed to the computer array in the center of the room. She keyed something in—she was bringing up the camera feeds—

"Don't do that," he said.

"I want to see!" she protested, but she stopped.

"They were just having a very intimate moment," he began. "And not sexual, just…tender."

"Tender?" Abby laughed. "Tony?"

"What was weird was that it didn't seem weird to them," McGee told her. "Does that make sense?"

"You think they've got a little something-something going on?"

"I don't know. I don't think so. Not yet."

"Yet being the key word."

"Right."

"I need to see this," Abby declared, suddenly turning back to her screen and clicking into the squad room feed.

The camera angle was awkward, a little far back, but they were still where McGee had left them at Ziva's desk, hands linked.

"Awww…" Abby squealed. "Timmy! You didn't tell me they were holding hands!"

McGee rolled his eyes. "I said it was a tender moment." 

Abby exhaled loudly and continued to watch the security feed as if it were a reality TV show. Tony squeezed Ziva's hand and leaned in, brushing his lips against the top of her hand. Then he grinned broadly and crossed back to his own desk as she picked up one of the files and turned to the shredder. They were still chatting casually, albeit across the room. Abby turned the feed off.

"If they didn't have that desk in the way, they would totally be kissing right now."

"You think?" McGee asked. But really, it had crossed his mind too.

"The way he's looking at her! First Gibbs and Ryan, now Tony and Ziva look like they might finally figure it out."

McGee nodded.

"Wanna bet they're leaving together tonight?" Abby suggested. "Not necessarily to, you know, but to hang out? No doubt."

"How are you so sure?"

"Why else would he be hanging around watching her shred things?" she asked. She had a point. He didn't say anything and she continued, "There's just some magical something there. You just don't believe in that kind of thing."

"Well, I'm going to sneak in there and get my stuff while it's clear." That and before Abby got into believing in things you couldn't understand again.

"If you see anything else—"

"I will let you know," he grinned. "G'night, Abby."

"Night, Timmy."


End file.
